## Facts

- A Milwaukee vice-squad detective investigated prostitution activity at a hotel that also housed university students.
- A student visiting another student at the hotel observed the detective in the lobby during the investigation.
- After arresting other suspects, the detective also arrested the student and accused him of offering to sell his girlfriend’s sexual services for $35; the student denied making any such offer.
- The student was charged with pandering; he maintained innocence and refused to plea bargain.
- The charge was dismissed without prejudice, and prosecutors told the detective it would not be reissued.
- Evidence at the civil trial indicated the detective continued pressing for prosecution after prosecutors declined to proceed and that he may have manufactured or tampered with evidence.
- A witness present at the scene testified, as lay opinion, that the arrest was motivated by racial prejudice.
- A jury found for the student and awarded $10,000 compensatory damages and $15,000 punitive damages.

## Issues

1. Whether the district court abused its discretion by admitting a lay witness’s opinion, under Federal Rule of Evidence 701, that the officer’s arrest decision was racially motivated.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s finding of liability for arrest without probable cause and related misconduct.
3. Whether the evidence supported punitive damages in a § 1983 action under the applicable culpability standard.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit affirmed the judgment for the plaintiff.
- The court upheld admission of the witness’s lay opinion on racial motivation under Rule 701 as based on personal perception and helpful to deciding a fact in dispute.
- The court held the record contained sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find lack of probable cause and improper investigative conduct.
- The court sustained both compensatory and punitive damages, finding the punitive award supported by evidence of improper motive and misconduct and not excessive.

## Legal Principles

- Lay opinion testimony is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 701 when it is rationally based on the witness’s perceptions and helpful to the jury’s determination of a disputed fact; opinions about another’s motivation may qualify if grounded in observed conduct rather than speculation.
- Appellate courts defer to jury determinations on credibility and the resolution of conflicting accounts when the verdict is supported by evidence permitting a reasonable inference of liability.
- Punitive damages in § 1983 cases may be awarded when the defendant’s conduct reflects evil motive or intent, or reckless or callous indifference to federally protected rights; evidence of fabrication/tampering and persistence in pursuing baseless charges can support such an award.

## Conclusion

The Seventh Circuit left intact a jury verdict finding a police officer liable under § 1983 for arresting a student without probable cause and engaging in misconduct, holding that a witness’s Rule 701 lay opinion on racial motivation was properly admitted and that the evidence supported both compensatory and punitive damages.


Bohannon v. Pegelow, 652 F.2d 729 (7th Cir. 1981)